


Something's up

by Cate_K1812



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Human Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Kissing, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29559549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cate_K1812/pseuds/Cate_K1812
Summary: Naruto was behaving differently and that annoyed Sakura.They had just returned from a mission and instead of asking her out for dinner or something like that, Naruto had just went home. He had smiled when he had said goodbye to her, but his smile had been fake and his eyes sad and dark.Not willing to accept whatever it is that bothers her friend, Sakura decides to talk things out with him.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura/Uzumaki Naruto, Karin/Uchiha Sasuke
Kudos: 24





	Something's up

**Author's Note:**

> OMG! My first ever Naruto Fic. I was part of this fandom for forever and so let down by the canon finale that i had to put it down completely for like 6 years (when was the Manga finale released again?) 
> 
> I forgot how much I loved the original Naruto and Shippuden Characters, they used to have this really great chemistry...  
> Those characters thought me who to ship and I will for ever love them for it. 
> 
> A great thanks to my beta bev_crusher1971 who has less than no clue about Naruto, but liked the story anyway :D
> 
> Have fun reading!

Naruto was behaving differently and that annoyed Sakura. He was acting distanced and way more serious than he usually did. 

They had just returned from a mission and instead of asking her out for dinner or something like that, Naruto had just went home. He had smiled when he had said goodbye to her, but his smile had been fake and his eyes sad and dark. 

Sakura sat on her window sill and stared out into the night. A soft wind blew, tugged on her pajamas and on her hair.

“Sakura!” she suddenly heard a familiar voice and looked a the ground underneath her window.

There stood Sasuke, gazing up to her. 

“What are you doing here?!” she hissed down. 

Sasuke jumped up to her and a little scared she fell down the other side with a loud thud. 

“The hell!?” she squealed. “People gonna get the wrong idea!”

“Who cares? We have serious problems!” he said. 

“Oh, do we now?” she asked sarcastically and stood back up, straightening her clothes. 

Sasuke slipped into her room and shut the window. A little annoyed, she asked again what he wanted. 

“I’ve told you about Karin,” he started.

“Yes.”  
“Yeah… she’s coming to Konoha and I don’t know how to deal with that,” he explained. 

Sakura rose a brow and slightly tilted her head, “That… is your problem?”

“It is a problem, isn’t it?”

“No!” she disagreed. “Naruto’s current behavior is a problem.”

Now Sasuke was confused, “Why? He’s not doing anything.”

“I know! That’s the problem!”

“Wait,” he said and tried to get her point, “for weeks you cried to me how annoying it was that he always tried to ask you out and gave you presents and flowers you didn’t ask for. Now he’s not doing any of that and it’s not good either?”

She let out a small snarl and crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

“Oh now I see,” he said with a smile.

“What?” she hissed aggressively.

With his hand he reached out for her wrist and linked his finger with the small bracelet she wore, pulling it upwards. Sakura felt how she flushed and pulled her arm back, but the strong thread with the small wooden pearls on it cut in her wrist and hurt her. She halted her force. She didn’t want the bracelet to break.

“He gave you that to your birthday two months ago,” Sasuke said with a cheeky grin. “I can basically still hear you: ‘ _Thanks, Naruto. But I said, I didn’t want anything. Also I’m not one to wear jewelry. I’m a Kunoichi._ ’ and now I see you wearing it. And by the looks of it, it’s not the first time tonight. Are you hiding it usually?”

Sakura’s face turned from a light pink to a deep red, and Sasuke didn’t need any other confirmation for his theory. His friend usually wore gloves on missions and long sleeves or short cuffs at home. Hiding a small bracelet like this one was quite easy for her. He let go of her and was happy she hadn’t hit him yet. 

“So? Let’s first talk about your problem and then we tackle mine,” he said. 

“Yours isn’t a real problem to begin with,” she replied. “You’re just nervous that the girl you crush on comes to visit. Why does she even come over? Doesn’t she have duties in Kusagakure?”

“She finished her medical training there, but wants to learn even more. That’s why she comes here to learn from Lady Tsunade for a while,” he explained.

She nodded in understanding, “I see. That means she’s going to move here for a while. Take your chance and ask her out when the time is right. When she got used to living here. Help her get comfortable. Easy.”

“Good. Would you suggest giving her gifts or such?” he asked. 

“Only small things that you know she will like and appreciate,” she answered. 

“I see. Like the bracelet?”

“Yes,” she said without thinking. Within a second she realized what she had just said and flushed in a bright pink, that was even darker than her hair. “No!” she shouted. “No, no, no, no! You… grrr! Idiot!”

She tried to hit him, but Sasuke dodged. 

“You tricked me!” she yelled. 

“I did and it worked like a charm!” he laughed until she managed to hit him on the upper arm. 

Luckily there was barely any force behind the punch. 

“So… you appreciate the bracelet and wear it… apparently all the time,” he summarized, “and you’re worried about Naruto’s current behavior. Mainly that he has distanced himself from you, refrained himself from being too clingy. Why is this bothering you?”

Her arms dismissively crossed in front of her chest and head turned away from him, she let out another snarl.

Sasuke smiled and sighed a little, “Alright, listen, little Tsunade. Don’t let your pride get in your way. You obviously care about Naruto.”

“Don’t you?!” she asked surprisingly aggressive. “Have you seen his face earlier? It was so painful…”

“I’ve noticed that he was a little more passive than usually,” he admitted, “but I haven’t seen any unusual pain.”

“Unusual?!” she asked worried. “What is the usual pain?!”

“No, you don’t understand… sorry. Wrong phrasing,” he muttered. “He usually looks hurt for a sec after you reject his advances but he quickly smiles it away.”

Sakura guiltily bit her lower lip and looked away from her friend.

“There I am, always making fun of you for not being able to convey your feelings properly, and yet I’m no better,” she muttered. “I’m even worse.”

“Yeah, you can’t even admit them,” he said. 

“What shall I do?” she asked abashed.

Sasuke shrugged and suggested she could just accept one of his invitation now and then.

“He doesn’t even ask me out anymore, in case you forgot,” she hissed angrily. 

“Right. Then why don’t you ask him?”

“What?” She felt how she blushed yet again.

“It’s not that outlandish when you think of it,” he went on and walked back towards the window, opening it. “We talk tomorrow, okay? You helped me a lot actually.”

As he jumped out the window she ran to it, looking after her friend, as he vanished into the night. 

“Idiot,” she growled, her hand around her wrist and the bracelet.

She closed her window and went to bed. 

~~~oOo~~~

As she dressed herself the next day, she grabbed the black cuffs she loved to wear lately and hesitated for a second. She had started to wear them for two reasons. The first, that they had been a gift from Ino and the second, that it hid the bracelet. If she’d wear it openly… what would the people around her think? Would they even notice? She pulled the cuffs over her wrists and tied her hair up into a ponytail. Straightening her red vest, she put the belt around her waist and tugged a little on her apron skirt. She played a little with her side bangs and stroked over the small, purple Yin seal on her forehead. 

She remembered the day it first activated itself during a mission. Kakashi, and later Tsunade, had been so proud of her and Naruto had been excited like a pup when he had seen it. For almost four weeks now, he was distancing himself from her. It was time to change that. 

She left her room and hurried towards the main door to put on her boots. “I’m out. See you later!”

“Tell us when you won’t be home for dinner!” called her mother from the kitchen. 

“I will!” Sakura agreed and stepped outside.

Now it was time to think how she could approach Naruto. They had a couple of free days ahead of them and she really couldn’t think of anything that was casual enough to invite him to. Her confident steps slowed down and with a sigh she stopped. 

“Oh my, you look down,” she suddenly heard her friend’s voice. 

Sakura realized that she had ended up in front of the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino eyed her up and down. 

“What’s up?” she asked. 

“Oh… hey, Ino. It’s nothing. What are you up to? Helping your mom?” Sakura asked and stepped closer, gently caressing some of the flowers.

“Ya, I help her today,” Ino said. “I leave for a mission tomorrow. You just came back yesterday, haven’t you?”

Sakura nodded. “I guess we can’t do anything together this time.”

“We just hang out when I’m back,” the blond said with a smile. “But back to you. Why so down? Have you had a fight with your mom again?”

The other girl shook her head, “No. Everything’s fine with us. But… mh… never mind.”

“Oh no, something is definitely up,” Ino realized and stepped out from behind the counter. “Tell me.”

Sakura let go of a pink rose and sighed, “Have you ever worried about Shikamaru or Choji when they just started to act… weird?”

“They’re my friends and teammates. Of course I worry when they act weird,” Ino replied. “Why? Is it Sasuke? I’ve noticed that he’s been… jumpy lately.”

“I-it’s Naruto, actually,” she admitted. 

Ino frowned and said, that he acted rather normal around her. She had just met him yesterday.

“He bought some flowers. I thought they were for you,” she said. 

Sakura felt a little dumb once again, “He… hasn’t bought me flowers in forever. Not that I would like those, or anything. It’s just… he is more distanced and so serious… and he looked so… sad after the mission yesterday.”

Ino put on a gentle smile. “It’s great that you care so much. Here,” she picked the pink rose her friend had played with earlier and handed it to her, “take the flower, feel pretty today and I’m sure your clever head finds an answer.”

Sakura smiled a little and smelled the rose, “Thanks… why do you think he does that?”

“I don’t know,” Ino replied. “It’s common knowledge that he loves you since forever. He grows up. Or maybe he just wants you to feel better by taking something out of your life, that you don’t like. That being his affection.”

The green eyes of the young woman widened in shock as she heard that. Subliminally she touched her wrist with the bracelet. 

“Can I tell you a secret?” she asked. 

“You know you can,” Ino said. 

Sakura pulled off one of her cuffs and showed her friend the bracelet.

“That’s pretty,” Ino complimented. “Have you made it yourself?”

“It was Naruto’s birthday gift for me,” she admitted. 

The blond seemed surprise, yet appeared to repress a smile, “Impressive. He has good taste. It suits your style.”

“That coming from you…” Sakura muttered, her fingers gently petting the flower petals. “Until a few years ago none of us would have even considered spending time with him. And look where I am now… I can’t stop thinking about him.”

Ino let out a snicker. “You gonna figure something out, Forehead girl.”

“Sip it, Ino-pig”, Sakura went back on her with a giggle. She pushed herself away from the counter she had leaned on and made a step towards the door, “Well. I better get going now. You’re right. I will figure something out.”

“Don’t punch him too hard,” Ino jokingly called after her. 

‘ _As if I can’t control myself_ ’, she thought and walked down the street. In her hand she held the rose. Her grip around it was tight, but gentle. ‘ _I just ask him, if he’s okay. I better be subtle about all of this. Who knows what will happen when he finds out how much I actually care?_ ’ Her gaze dropped to her wrist. She was wearing only one of the cuffs. Should she just put the second back on or take the other off as well? ‘ _I_ _take_ _them off_ ’, she decided, pulled the cuff away and put them in her pocket. ‘ _Naruto’s not the smartest, but also not dumb. Maybe he sees the bracelet and figures_ _out_ _that I actually don’t hate his presents. Then everything can go back to normal and I can work on from there._ ’

She smiled confidently as she walked up to her friend’s apartment. But when she reached his door she hesitated. 

“I can’t do that…” she breathed. Angry with herself and her cowardliness she growled and clenched her fist, “Shannaro! No draw backs!”

A little too aggressively, she knocked on the door. Quick, hasty steps came from inside and the door was ripped open. Naruto seemed ready to attack as he looked outside. Seeing Sakura his expression changed and became softer, yet at the same time he avoided her gaze. 

Seeing her friend Sakura’s rage was blown away and her insecurity was back. What was she doing here again? Like a protective shield she held the rose up in front of her chest.

“Hey,” she greeted with a nervous smile and a slightly squeaky voice. “How are you?”

“Hi,” he said back and finally lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

“Iii…” her brain went blank and she held out her hand with the rose. “Here, for you.”

Very surprised he took the flower. “Thank you? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied and released her stress with a sigh. “Sorry… I… I’m just… a little worried.”

Curiously, he eyed her and stepped aside, “You’d like to come in?”

‘ _No! When I go in_ _there_ _, it looks like I care way too much!_ ’, she shouted panicking internally. 

“Yeah, sure. Why not?” she agreed, quite calm on the outside.

She stepped past Naruto into the spacious apartment. Everything was generally clean, though not nearly spotless and dust covered certain surfaces. Interestingly enough, she saw that the kitchen seemed to be in use. Dirty pots, pans and woks stood around, used plates and bowls piled up by the sink. Not a single instant-ramen-cup in sight. On the small desk by the sofa stood a pretty, white vase that held a bouquet of flowers, with lilac, some grasses and a hand full of light pink and yellow roses.

“I didn’t know you were cooking,” she said impressed. 

“I’ve started only recently,” Naruto explained, while putting the single rose into a glass filled with water. “So… what is worrying you?”

“Your behavior,” she replied.

“My… er… what about it?” he asked irritated. 

“Something’s off about it and I don’t like it,” she said, not letting him out of her sight.

“Er… would you mind going out for a tea?” he changed the subject. “I wanted to clean later today. So…”

“N-no… that… it sounds good. Let’s do that,” she agreed.

Naruto grabbed some things from a sideboard and shoved them into his pockets. Then he opened the door and let her go out first. Sakura felt like their relationship could return to normal. In comfortable silence – at least it was comfortable for Sakura – they walked though the village to the tea house which they visited from time to time.

“So… you started cooking. How come?” she asked. 

“I… you see, I’m turning 19 this year and I figured recently that I should grow up,” he answered. “I can’t stay a dumb kid forever.”

“I like the dumb kid,” she said. “You’re fun that way.”

She looked up at him and caught him smiling. “Well… maybe fun, but also annoying, right?”

“Sometimes,” she agreed chuckling. “But why the change?” 

“About a month ago I heard Sasuke talk about the amazing medical nin he wants to date and that he wants to structure his life differently,” Naruto explained. “I thought about his words and after seeing him act lately… He’s quite serious about all of this. I thought I, too, should start taking things more serious. I’m not young forever after all.”

“This really is serious for him,” she agreed. “But he’s quite nervous about it all.”

“So would I,” the blond muttered.

Sakura noticed how his voice became a bit deeper, sadder, and it irritated her. They reached the tea house, took a table and ordered. They sat across from each other and instead of asking unnecessary questions, he remained silent and wouldn’t look at her. ‘ _Why is he like this? This is wrong! Open your mouth, Naruto!_ ’, she shouted inside, while remaining quiet on the outside.

The tea came and still neither of them spoke. This was annoying. Way too annoying. She clenched her fist and smashed it down onto the table. Naruto flinched and almost dropped his cup. 

“What are you…?!” he asked.   
“Stop being silent as a mouse! I can’t stand that!” she barked. 

“S-sorry… I-I just have nothing to say…” he stuttered. 

“You have never nothing to say!” she said, trying to calm herself down again. “You always talk non-stop! So what is it? Why is this whole spiel with Karin such a big deal for you?”

Confused, Naruto locked eyes with her. “Who’s Karin?”

Sakura was caught off guard by this comment and for a moment they were just staring at each other. 

“Karin… is the medical nin from Kusagakure… the medical nin Sasuke is crushing on, you know?” she explained. 

Hearing that Naruto’s eyes widened and his yaw dropped down.

“Wait?! That medical ninja is not you?!” he asked. 

“What? No. As if I was dating Sasuke,” she replied slightly disgusted. “The Child-me would have liked that, but not this adult version of me.”

“But I thought…”  
Something dawned onto her, “Did you distance yourself this much lately because you thought I was dating Sasuke and you didn’t want to intervene?”

“Yes?!” he replied awkwardly. 

Sakura didn’t know whether to just laugh or whether to hit him. But that was Naruto’s naivety and stupidity at its peak. She buried her face in her hand and chuckled.

Looking back up after a moment she said, “You’re great. A great idiot, but also a great friend.”

Naruto’s face turned bright red and in a hasty move he chucked down his cup of tea. 

He pretty much slammed the cup back onto the table and said loudly, “Stop not being angry! It always confuses me when you’re friendly towards me even though I did something dumb!”

“What? You want me to charge at you now for being uninformed?” she joked. 

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he muttered. 

A little annoyed about his last statement she took a sip of tea and calmed down again. 

“You see,” she said, “you’re not the only one wanting to grow up.”

Naruto breathed out, calming down. 

“Alright… Sorry,” he replied. 

“Nothing to be sorry about,” she said. “But I have to say, that your course of action was rather cute. Surprisingly considerate of you.”

Naruto smiled, “I haven’t thought you would even recognize it.”

“When a very loud voice suddenly goes silent, one recognizes,” she retorted and started absentminded to play with her bracelet. 

He, of course, noticed and said, “I thought you didn’t like it?”

She could feel her cheeks getting warm, and she stopped playing with it and replied, “I’ve never said that.” Her gaze wandered around for a moment before returning to her friend and she asked, “Can we go back to how we used to be? Friends?”  
“Yeah, sounds great,” he agreed. “Though you could accept an invitation here and there.”

“Or we could just hang out and I pay food and stuff for myself,” she suggested with a smile. 

He chuckled and nodded. After they had drunk up and paid, they aimlessly wandered around Konoha and just talked. 

Sakura was so glad to have cleaned everything up with Naruto, she was chattering non stop. Her friend was listening and talking not less. As she was just telling him about the Jo-nin qualifications later this year, they came by the Yamanaka flower shop. Naruto flashed a big smile at the blond girl and tossed her some coins. In return she handed him a beautiful rose with lavender colored petals, which he hid behind his back. 

After a little while Sakura noticed, that Naruto had fallen behind her and turned around, “Hey are you listening? Or am I boring you?”

“What no!” he replied. “Jo-nin qualifications. Super important and you can become a Sensei with an own team. I have listened. But I thought you wanted to become a doctor?”  
“Yes, some day in the future,” she said. “But I want to train some young people first. Also… What are you hiding behind your back?”

“What? I’m not hiding anything,” he denied.

“Don’t play dumb, I want to see!” she insisted and tried to look and reach behind him. 

Giggling, he tried to avoid her but gave in quickly, “Alright, alright. You won.” He pulled out the flower and held it up in front of her. “See it as a return of favors for the rose earlier.”

Sakura was flattered and accepted the gift right away, “Thank you. It’s beautiful. You really don’t have to spend so much money on me. Those roses are expensive.”

“Naah… don’t sweat it,” Naruto replied. “Ino gives me discounts on everything when she’s in the shop.”  
“I-Ino?!” she repeated. “Why does she…?”

“She’s just awesome,” he answered mysteriously. 

Sakura certainly couldn’t talk back on that, but she felt like she would need to have a serious conversation with her friend later. But Ino was leaving tomorrow. 

“Naruto and Sakura?” A sudden voice startled the young woman. 

The friends turned around and saw old man Jiraiya. Naruto immediately greeted his old master very joyfully and they quickly exchanged some words.

“Are you free?” the San-nin asked curiously.

“No… not really. I’m with Sakura right now. We wanted to get lunch together,” Naruto replied. 

“No, it’s fine,” the girl said. “We get lunch another time. You go with Jiraiya. Have fun.”

She turned around and walked off. Naruto called after her, that they would meet up tomorrow. Without turning around again she just waved him goodbye and smelled the rose.

Her way lead her directly back to the Yamanaka flower shop. Jiraiya’s surprising appearance was actually quite in her favor. Now she could talk with Ino. 

As she reached the shop, the Blonde was just finishing a sale with another costumer. Sakura leaned onto the counter, the rose gently in one hand. 

“Hey, Ino,” she said suggestively, with an all knowing smile.

Her friend was a little surprised to see the girl with the cherry-blossom hair. “Hey, what are you doing here? Where’s Naruto? You came by together earlier. Did everything work out?”

Sakura grinned cheeky and Ino became a little worried.

“What?” she asked.

“You give Naruto discounts?!” Sakura asked.

“I?! What? Nooo…” Ino denied. 

“Don’t play dumb. He told me,” Sakura said.

Ino sighed and dropped down onto the counter, “Great… I won’t apologize thou.”

“You don’t have to,” Sakura replied. “It’s very nice of you though. May I ask why?”

“Why? I just wanted to give a fellow lonely heart a chance,” Ino explained. “I think you would fit together quite well and… you actually love him, don’t you?”

“I don’t…” Sakura quickly shot back. “Well… I… I don’t know… actually.”

Ino looked up to her friend. She slowly reached out for Sakura’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

“What have you said to him earlier?” she asked again, trying to sound calm and not nosy.

“That I’m worried about him,” Sakura answered truthfully and cracked a smile. “Can you believe it? Naruto thought I was dating Sasuke. That was the only reason he left me alone. Isn’t that laughable?”

“I think it’s quite considerate,” Ino replied.

“It is. And that from him! I can’t deal with that,” Sakura muttered.

She let out a small sigh and smelled the rose once again. The scent was strong and somewhat calming. 

When Ino’s mother entered the shop, she greeted her daughter and her friend and instantly recognized the rose, asking her daughter if she had given it to the other girl.

Ino denied and said, that it had been a gift from Naruto. 

“How lovely,” her mother hummed. “You have sold him the rose, right? I know why you chose the lavender one.”

“Why? What is special about it?” asked Sakura curiously. 

“Don’t you know the meaning of a lavender colored rose?” asked the florist. 

Sakura shook her head and looked interested at her friend. Ino’s face was changing colors from white to red. Something was up. 

“What do they mean?” Sakura asked again. 

Ms Yamanaka chuckled, “Well, the lavender ones are rare and expensive. They mean enchantment, wonder, splendor and mystery. When you gift it to someone it could mean that you have a secret crush on them, or that you have fallen in love at first sight.”

Sakura, her eyes opened wide, gazed at Ino, who’s face was red.

“I-I don’t know nothing,” she muttered. 

“Oh, Ino. You are so good with the language of the flowers,” her mother said, “You once harshly insulted Shikamaru by giving him a bouquet of geraniums, foxgloves and yellow carnations with a single orange lily in the middle. That was quite rude.”

Not understanding any of this flower-talk Sakura asked what pink roses meant. It would be a little embarrassing for her, to have confessed her love to him with a stupid flower that Ino had given her. 

“A deep pink can convey gratitude, appreciation, recognition and is generally a good way to thank someone,” the florist explained, “while a light or pale pink conveys grace, gentleness, joy and happiness.”

Sakura was glad about the relatively mild meaning of the rose. Her flower had had a dark pink. So she had told him, that she recognized and appreciated him. That was very good. Well at least when he was aware of this language. 

“Thanks for the explanations, Mrs Yamanaka,” Sakura said. “I have to head home now. Bye Ino.”

Mother and daughter gave their goodbyes as well and Sakura strolled home. 

~~~oOo~~~

About two month went by and everything within team seven returned to normal. Naruto had returned to his funny, loud manner, Sakura accepted any other invitation for dinner or a drink he made and Sasuke’s crush, Karin, had moved to Konoha for her medical training.

Team seven had just won a harsh fight against some Suna-vigilantes who had stolen an important scroll from Konoha. 

During this fight everything had went a little over board. Sasuke had used too much of his chakra and was dead tired now. Kakashi had managed quite well, only got a small cut on the thigh and Naruto had caught a big hit, which had dislocated his left shoulder. Instead of not doing anything about it, as it would have been better, he had just forcefully put it back into its place and had kept fighting. 

Now Sasuke leaned on a tree, about to doze off, Naruto sat on the ground and Sakura stood behind him, healing his shoulder. Kakashi, who Sakura had already taken care of, walked around securing the surroundings.

“Sakura, can’t you help me first?” moaned Sasuke. 

“For the twelfth time, you are not hurt, just tired!” she barked at him. “You’re a Chu-nin and 19 years old! You should be able to keep your chakra-use in control!”

“I’m sorry, but not everyone is a Yin seal-user like you!” he bit back. 

Sakura growled quietly and kept concentrating on Naruto. “You know, even if this idiot wouldn’t have gotten himself hurt like this-”

“I said I’m sorry,” Naruto interrupted. “People do stupid things in the heat of the battle.”

“You could have seriously injured a sinew or a ligament!” she pressed out between her teeth. “You could have even bruised or torn a blood vessel! Only a professional med should relocate a shoulder or other joints. Understood!?”

“Yes…” he muttered. 

“We’ll get you to the hospital anyway when we’re back at Konoha,” she said. 

“Yes,” he agreed docile.

“Sasuke, you should get a check up too,” she suggested. When he didn’t answer, she looked over to him and found him fast asleep. With a smile, she murmured, “Yes, you’ll feel better when you wake up again.”

She continued the healing of Naruto’s wound. After a while she felt his body relax under her hands. The healing jutsu was energy consuming and tiring. 

“Why don’t you take a break?” he asked her.

“I’m not done yet,” she replied. 

“Sakura, sit down,” he ordered gently. 

“When it starts hurting again, it’s not my fault,” she said and stopped her healing. 

It actually felt good to take a break. She sunk down next to him and leaned back, facing the sky. 

“Aren’t you tired from the fight?” Naruto asked after a little while. 

“I’m very well capable of managing my chakra,” she replied. “I don’t overdo myself, like Sasuke did.”

“Well you have at least as much chakra as I do, so I don’t think you can actually overdo it,” he said. 

She chuckled, “I have not nearly as much chakra as you. You’re powered by a tailed beast. I may have more than Sasuke or Kakashi due to the Yin seal, but you… you are undoubtedly the strongest of us.”

“You think so?” he asked. 

“I know it. Ever since we became a team seven years ago, we all developed new skills and became stronger, but you grew the most from all of us,” she said and gave him a smile.

As she said that she looked close and directly at him. Naruto’s face was soft, his lips carried a loving smile, his blue eyes were as clear as the sky above them and Sakura, for the first time, recognized his full, surprisingly dark lashes. Everything about the boy in front of her was bright and colorful, except for his eyelashes. 

Realizing what she was thinking, she jumped back up. “Well… I better continue your treatment. We should return home soon.”

Naruto looked at her and saw the bracelet. “You… don’t have to wear it just for me, you know.”

Irritated, she gazed up and pulled her gloves up a little, “I’m not wearing it for you. I wear it for me.”

“You really do?”

“I like it,” she said. “It’s simple and nice.”

She stood up and started her healing jutsu again until Kakashi returned. Naruto smiled throughout the whole time.

~~~oOo~~~

Sakura brought her boys to Konoha-hospital as soon as they had reached the village. After a quick check-up, Sasuke was sent home for he was fine. Naruto though was kept in the hospital. The doctors wanted to watch the shoulder a little longer, as well as the possible concussion he had gotten during the fight. They weren’t comfortable with him going home and being alone. No one would be there to help him if anything happened. But he could probably leave the next day without a problem. 

It was the middle of the night. Sakura laid in bed, sleeping soundly when suddenly a big bang caused the glass in the window frames to clatter.

Immediately, the young woman was awake and jumped to the window. Behind the rooftops she saw dark clouds rising up, accompanied by red and yellow flames. An ice cold shower ran down her spine as she realized what could have happened there. 

“The hospital…” she breathed.

As quickly as she could she put on some clothes and ran to the main door. 

“Sakura!” called her mother, “What happened? Where are you going?”

Her head buzzed with panic and worries about the patients at the hospital, but mainly about Naruto. Sakura really had no time to argue with her mother right now. “Something happened in the east village! I gotta go!”

“Wait!” Mebuki insisted and grabbed her arm. “You can’t go there. When the fires are seen even here, it is way too dangerous to go.”

Angrily, Sakura ripped her arm from her mother’s grip and yelled, “Lives are in danger! I’m a medical nin! It’s my duty to help people!”

“Rule number two:” Mebuki tried to argue, “A med nin shall never be on the front lines! Sakura, I’m just wo-”  
“Rule two is irrelevant for me, due to rule four,” Sakura replied and stormed out of the door, before her mother could say something else. 

The fourth rule for medical ninjas said, that those ninjas who had mastered the Strength of a hundred techniques and thus wore a Yin seal were omitted from the rules one to three. 

Mebuki wanted to call after her once again, when her husband appeared behind her,. “Don’t worry about her. She’s been through worse.”

“She’ll better be careful,” Mebuki muttered. 

Sakura ran as fast as she could. She hoped she was wrong. She hoped so much she was wrong and it wasn’t the hospital that was burning, but any other building. ‘ _Naruto! Please be okay! Please be okay!_ ’, she thought again and again. Reaching the square on which the hospital was located, her worst fears came true. The entire east-wing was on fire, with giant flames blasting into the dark sky. 

“Naruto…” she breathed. 

The east-wing had held his room. 

Countless ninjas had already assembled on the square, taking care of and evacuating the patients, trying to control the fire and blocking the way to the hospital.

In midst the roaring flames Sakura made out a creature of pure anger, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. The Kyubi was taking over Naruto’s body, covering it with blood red, burning chakra. 

Naruto jumped at something across the hospital but got hit by a big explosion and was thrown back into the crumbling building. 

Headlessly, Sakura started running towards her friend and the fire. As she was getting closer, she could make out two shapes on the edge of a roof. They were probably responsible for this. Without a second thought, she activated her Yin seal. The seal’s pattern spread over her body, filling her with incredible power. A ninja tried to stop her, but had no chance. Over some rubbles she jumped up into the sky.

~~~oOo~~~

On the rooftop two foreign ninja watched the attack attempts of the Kyubi. “I don’t think we have a chance against him in this state. We should have killed him quicker than this, Deidara.”

“Just one or two more explosions and we got him, Sasori!” the other called back. 

In the flames appeared Naruto again, screeching, his eyes shining white orbs. 

“We should leave…” Sasori said again. “Our client surely can wait a little lo-”

He felt a strong presence approach and quickly jumped to the side. That second, a girl flew past him, fast like an arrow, hitting his partner who was just creating another of his explosive clay bombs, right in the face, knocking him to the ground. 

In shock, Sasori saw the woman coming to a halt. Her eyes glowed angrily in the fire and her body was covered in a strange linear pattern. 

“What the fuck?!” hissed Deidara and slowly pushed himself up again. 

“Attacking a hospital?” the woman growled. “That’s so wretched… you’ll pay for this!”

She smacked her fist into her palm and stepped slowly towards Deidara. Anger and fear showed in his eyes. Sasori felt that this woman was trouble and quickly spun some chakra strings, catching and immobilizing her for a moment. With an infuriated growl, she turned her head around to him. 

“Deidara! Get here and let us go!” he called to his partner. 

The blond quickly ran to him and pulled out a small clay bird.   
“You think I’ll let you escape?!” she shouted and broke free from the strings. 

Sasori was fascinated and scared by this woman. She attacked again, but just in time Deidara created a clay bird for the escape and they sored up into the sky. But immediately, the Kyubi appeared next to them in the air, the jinchuriki covered in dark red chakra. It lifted a clawed paw against them and only thanks to an explosion by Deidara they were spared from the attack. 

The Kyubi was thrown to the roof on which the woman was still standing. Flying away, Sasori saw how she jumped in front of the tailed beast, pulling it’s attention onto herself. 

~~~oOo~~~

Naruto was slammed to the ground by an explosion, landing right in front of Sakura and cracking the roof. Immediately he jumped back up again, screeching and looking up to the fleeing ninjas. He looked terrifying, covered in the rage-fueled dark chakra, seven tails out already and his eyes like white orbs. 

In his years of training, Naruto had learned to control the full power of the Kyubi. He was never loosing control. The last time she had seen him like this, they had been fourteen and were being attacked by the monster Orochimaru. 

“NARUTO!” she shouted and ran in front of him, “Stop it! You can’t lose yourself in rage like this!”

He looked at her, with his white orbs roaring right at her, lifting a hand and attacking her. She pulled up her arms in defense, feeling the sharp claws cutting over her arms and ripping the bracelet off her wrist. 

This was the second time he attacked her in this state. But she wasn’t running away like last time, this time she was stronger. The Yin seal release managed to stop the bleeding in it’s tracks and even to numb the pain. Hellbent on getting her friend back, she leaped forward, hitting him in the chest and slamming him to the ground. 

“PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, NARUTO!” she yelled, angry tears in her eyes, “COME BACK TO ME!!!”

“Saaa-kuu-rrraa?!” the Kyubi growled and finally he seemed to come back to his senses. 

The glowing of his eyes became weaker, the tails disappeared and the chakra first became orange and then disappeared. Naruto moaned painfully, holding his head. He appeared to be okay, though his clothes were a little torn. 

“Sakura? What-” he muttered but was cut off immediately, when the girl leaped forward again and kissed him. 

Naruto’s mind went blank when her lips pressed against his. As she finally pulled back, the Yin seal was deactivating, her eyes were soft and her cheeks pink. 

“Err… am I dead?” he asked shyly. 

Anger flickered up in her eyes again and she shouted, “You might as well be!” She roughly grabbed his collar, shaking him a bit and continued, “What the hell was that?! Who were those bastards? Why were they after you? And how many times have we talked about you using your power when angry?! You can lose yourself in the transformation when you’re enraged! You were totally gone just now! And when you think you could scare me by attacking me, then you’re so wrong! Raise a hand against me ever again in this state and I personally smack Kurama out of your body!”

Only now Naruto saw the dark scratches on her arm and a little beside them the destroyed bracelet. 

“I-I’m sorry…” he muttered. “I didn’t… I don’t know why they attacked me. I only know that there was an explosion and I was out… I think Kurama protected me. I’m really sorry… but… why did you kiss me? That wasn’t a dream, was it?”

Her face turned bright red, “I-I-I-I… that…” She pressed her eyes shut and growled, “Shannaro!”

Naruto expected her to hit him any second now and turned his head away, pulling it between his shoulders. 

“I care about you, idiot, okay?!” she shouted. “I was really worried! I don’t want to lose you, because I love you!”

Flabbergasted he gazed back at her, “You…?”

“Don’t flatter yourself too much, alright?! I’m still angry with you for making me worry so much!” she barked at him and finally stood up.

She grabbed her wrist to feel her bracelet and noticed that it was gone. She looked around for it, found it, carefully picked the string up and collected the pearls. 

“I-I can fix it…” he said quietly from behind and slowly pushed himself up. 

“Naruto! Sakura!” They suddenly heard the voices of Jiraiya and Tsunade.

The san-nins came running towards them and seemed very worried.

“What happened, are you okay?!” Tsunade asked. 

The two friends quickly recapped the story and the two old people seemed to become worried. When someone hired assassins to get rid of Naruto, it couldn’t mean something good. 

“I immediately take care of this. I’ll figure out who those people were,” Jiraiya assured. 

“Good, thank you,” Tsunade agreed and turned back to the two friends. “Naruto, get yourself checked again and then we’ll find you a place to stay for the night.”

“Don’t worry, Sensei, I’ll take care of him,” Sakura said. “I’m very well capable of taking care of him.”

“What? No, Sakura you don’t have too,” Naruto tried to change her mind. 

“Shut up!” she hissed, “I know you better than anyone else here! Do you really think I would just let you go back to the easily bridged hospital were only mediocre meds are working? Forget it!”

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a small smile.

“Alright, you have an eye on him for tonight,” the Hokage said. “Come to my office tomorrow at three. We talk about everything then, alright?”

The friends nodded and made their way down to the square. 

As they were gone, Jiraiya leaned over to Tsunade and said, “You owe me 2,000 ryo and a date.”

“I do not!” she vehemently denied. “They are not officially together or anything!”

“Come one, Tsunade, we just saw them kissing,” he tried to argue, “I have clearly won the bet.”

“No,” she said. “Come on now. We have work to do.”

~~~oOo~~~

Naruto and Sakura had quickly determined that they wouldn’t go home to Sakura’s place. Her parents would only ask question and there was so much they had to talk about right now.

None of them was saying a single word though until they reached his apartment. With a loud sigh Naruto collapsed onto his couch and moaned when his soar, aching body made itself known again. 

“Are you injured after all?” she asked. 

“Maybe the explosion did leave something on me,” he groaned. “And my shoulder…”

Sakura sighed and stepped to him, “Take off your shirt and let me have a look.”

He hesitated for a moment. But she was a medical professional. Trusting her, he took off his shirt and turned his aching back to her. 

Sakura took a deep breath as she saw the multiple bruises on his back and shoulder. Everything was black and blue and while that was normal for his formerly dislocated shoulder, for his back it wasn’t. She started her healing, using the Shosen jutsu.

“Can we talk about what just happened?” he asked restrained. 

“Do you mean the attack?” she asked. 

“No, rather the love confession part…” he clarified. 

Of course. She wanted to talk about it too, but couldn’t even think about it without blushing and feeling weak. And that was not good. Her pride held her back once again.

“It’s all said, isn’t it?” she muttered. 

Naruto turned around and grabbed her hand. “Not really! I mean… I still can’t believe this isn’t a dream? Since when-”

“I don’t know!” she cut him off. “I just know that I do, okay? I’m not so good with expressing sincere feelings, like you are.” She gulped and avoided eye-contact. “I care more about you than about anyone else. I want to see you happy and healthy. I want to see you reach your goals and I want to be by your side while you succeed. Love is a mess and it confuses me because it’s not really logical and just in case you wonder,” she added and faced him again, “what I feel for you is so much different than this stupid childhood crush I had on Sasuke.”

Naruto’s cheeks were pink and he was speechless. 

Sakura sighed and shyly asked, “When… when you still feel like you used to, would you consider… accepting my feelings?”

“Sometimes you should really remember your own words,” he said with a wide grin, “I’m too stubborn to put my mind off something I formerly set it to. Somewhat like you,” he added. 

Relieved she started to laugh and leaned forward, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Shyly but incredibly happy he put a hand to the back of her head and stroked over her cherry-blossom hair. 

“Hey… it’s like 2 am,” he said, “we should go to bed.”

“Good idea,” she muttered.

“You take the bed and I’ll take the sofa,” he suggested. 

Immediately the medical professional kicked in again and she sat back up straight, “No way! You are hurt. You take the bed! I insist.” 

Knowing her as good as he did, he knew that arguing wouldn’t work and it was probably the best to find a compromise.

“Then lets share the bed, whatcha say? This way we both get what we want,” he said with a grin. 

Sakura flushed, “Are you…?!”

“I won’t try anything funny, don’t worry,” he quickly intervened. “You know you can trust me, right?”

He was right. She did trust him. 

“Can you borrow me some clothes to sleep in?” she asked.

With a big smile he agreed and they went to the bedroom. 

~~~oOo~~~

Sasuke had just picked up Karin from her apartment and they were on their way to the hospital to visit Naruto. 

As they reached the hospital square Sasuke was shook to see the partly destroyed building. 

“What in the world happened here!?” he asked loudly. 

“Haven’t you heard?” Karin asked and explained, “There was an attack on the hospital last night. The explosion was heard all over Konoha.”

Sasuke was baffled. His parents and brother had talked about an attack at the breakfast table but he hadn’t really listened.

“The east-wing is gone!” he pointed out. “Naruto laid there! Come on!”

They hurried into the hospital and to the reception counter. A little worried he asked about his friend. 

The nurse tried to calm him and said, “I’m sorry, Mr Uchiha, but Mr Uzumaki is no longer patient in this hospital.”

“How?! And where is he then?!” Sasuke almost shouted at the young woman. 

Karin gently grabbed his arm to calm him. 

“I do not know that, sir,” the nurse replied. “The Hokage was here last night and after the situation was under control she told the staff that she herself had discharged Mr Uzumaki and ensured us that he was with a capable medical nin.”

“Sakura…” he muttered. “Thank you. Come on, Karin, I think I know where they could be.”

They left the hospital again and Sasuke wondered why Sakura had been here last night.

“And where are we going now?” Karin asked as they hurried down a street. 

“To Sakura’s home,” he answered, “When I predict her actions correctly she has taken Naruto to her place. He probably slept on the carpet in the hallway.”

“Haven’t you said they have quite a good relationship?” she asked. 

“Yes, but Sakura is like Lady Tsunade. She would never admit her feelings towards Naruto,” he explained. 

After a little walk, they reached the Harunos’ home and Karin noticed that it was located in the middle of the village. They walked up the staircase and Sasuke knocked on the door. Within seconds Mebuki ripped the door open. She seemed incredible disappointed by whom she was seeing. 

“Good morning, Mrs Haruno. Can we see Sakura?” Sasuke asked friendly and not too hasty. 

“I would like to see her too,” Mebuki hissed, “She ran off last night to the hospital and I haven’t seen her since.”

“You haven’t?!” he wondered. 

Karin leaned over his shoulder and muttered, “I see how well you know her.”

“Do you know where she is?” Mebuki asked. 

Sasuke knew he was in trouble now. The only place where she still could be was Naruto’s place, but if he told that to her mother, she would probably kill either him or her daughter. Or even worse, innocent Naruto.

“I don’t,” he lied, “But I’ll tell her you’re looking for her. Come on, Karin.”

“Tell her I’m furious! She cannot just stay out all night!” Mebuki called after them. 

“Technically she can,” Karin muttered, “She’s 19.”

“I can’t believe that Sakura would have really gone with Naruto to his place,” he thought loud.

Karin didn’t understand, “Why? According to you they are in love but Sakura won’t admit it. Do you fear they would physically hurt each other? You said, Naruto is super strong but as harmless as a kitten and Sakura can smash down walls with her bare hands and is basically an aggressive Pit bull. I’m sure if they had charged at one another, we would already know.”

“I said Doberman,” he corrected her. “But they wouldn’t hurt each other physically… well, he wouldn’t. But… I don’t know. I just can’t get it into my head. Sakura is so stubborn, she would never admit-”

“Why don’t you just wait and see?” she suggested. 

“You think they’re okay?”

Karin shrugged and they kept walking over to Naruto’s. 

As they reached the apartment Sasuke knocked aggressively against the door and after a moment the blond ninja opened up.

“Sasuke, good morning. What are you doing here?” Naruto asked and noticed the strange, red haired girl behind his friend, “Who’s that?”

“Naruto, why are you here and what happened to the hospital?!” Sasuke asked. 

“Oh, I got attacked there last night. No problem, though. I’m fine,” Naruto answered smiling, “You’d like to come in? I just wanted to prepare breakfast.”

Sasuke agreed and stepped in. 

As he did, Naruto called, “Sakura! Sasuke and… someone are here!”

Stepping in, he saw his teammate sitting on the couch in the living room drinking tea and wearing a black, a little to big t-shirt and boxer shorts. 

Seeing Sasuke, Sakura almost spit out her tea again “What are you doing here!?” 

“Funny. I just wanted to ask you the same!” he shouted back at her. “What the hell happened?!”

“A lot and nothing!” she replied and her gaze fell onto Karin. “And who’s that?”

“I’m Karin Uzumaki!”, she introduced herself. “Nice to meet you.”

Hearing that Naruto said, “My name is Uzumaki too. Are we related?”

Karin shrugged and while those two started to talk about their mother’s who both had come from Uzu no kuni, Sasuke and Sakura started to argue what she was doing here and how she had gotten here. After a few sarcastic replies like “By foot” or “I’m standing”, Sakura finally became more serious and told him about the strangers from last night. 

Meanwhile Naruto and Karin went chatting to the kitchen and Naruto prepared scrambled eggs for four.

“And yes… that’s what happened. He transformed back,” Sakura finished her story. 

“Just like that?” Sasuke wondered. “Just after you yelled at him and hit him once? What’s with your arms?”

“Yes,” she growled. “Just like that. And don’t mind my arms. It’s nothing.”

“Nothing?!” he repeated. “He attacked you again, hasn’t he?”

Angrily she hissed, “Don’t you dare! I have anything under control. Always.”

The enraged energy radiating from her was scary and made Sasuke back off. 

“Hey you guys, breakfast is ready,” Naruto called over to them. 

Sakura’s attitude changed again. She became more cheery and went over to the kitchen, sitting down at the breakfast table. Sasuke followed her and placed himself next to Karin.

“I’m sorry you had to hear all of this,” Sakura apologized to the red-haired girl. “Sasuke and I usually don’t fight so much.”

“Oh, don’t sweat it,” Karin replied. “Naruto has told me everything about your friendship and congrats by the way.”

Sakura blushed a little and turned to the Blond, “You have told her?!”

“It came up,” Naruto said apologizing.

“Congrats on what?” Sasuke asked. “What came up?”

Sakura sighed and run her fingers though her hair, “I… actually wanted to keep it to us at least for a little while, but fine.”

“What!?”

“Naruto and I are together now,” she said.

Sasuke almost dropped his chopsticks as he heard that. “Is there… have I missed something?”

“It was amazing actually,” Naruto replied, his cheeks pink, “I would have never thought that this could happen but she just confessed to me.”

“Stop talking, this is embarrassing,” Sakura muttered.   
“I think it’s cute,” said Karin who had already heard the story.

“Wait… so you came together and started a real romantic relationship last night? Like you’re seriously a couple now?” Sasuke asked again. “You… you really did swallow your pride regarding all of this?!”

Naruto and Sakura agreed and the Uchiha’s mouth turned into a giant grin. 

“That is amazing!” he said. 

“All of the sudden?” Sakura asked suspiciously.

“Yes! Because now Kakashi owes me 2000 ryo!” he explained. 

Very confused they all looked at him and questioned why. Upon that Sasuke told them about a bet he and their teamleader had had going about when, if ever, Naruto and Sakura would start dating. 

“You fucking did what?!” she shouted. 

“Yeah, I had Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Kakashi, the weekend and Monday. Wednesday would have been a loss for both of us,” he explained. 

Naruto realized that his girlfriend was about to explode and tried to defuse this situation by asking how they got this crazy idea. 

Sasuke didn’t mind telling them, “It was Kakashi’s idea. He heard Tsunade and Jiraiya talk about the exact same thing about three years ago and originally wanted in on their bet, but they said no, and one day we talked about it and decided to do our own bet. And I won. Thank you guys.”

“I can’t believe you…” Sakura hissed. “This is… why even?!”

“Sakura, I saw you pining for the last three years, ever since Naruto came back from his two year training trip. It was just a matter of time,” he said. “Though at the same time I really doubted it, because you are way too much like Tsunade.”

“Was that why you told me to swallow my pride?!” she barked. 

“No!” he replied. “I told you to swallow it, because if you hadn’t you could have ended like Tsunade. Famous, but probably alone! I mean she has literally no-one. You are my friend. I don’t want to see you end like this. Not if the perfect opportunity stands literally by your side for years!”

Sakura sighed loudly and sunk down on her chair. His way of thinking was quite nice and considerate actually and she really couldn’t say if she had ever had the courage to tell Naruto how she felt, if it wasn’t for Sasuke and Ino who had reassured her, that it would be a good idea.

“Who cares,” she muttered and stuffed some egg in her face, “I decided this, so who cares of this bet or whatever. But” she gazed up grinning, “from your won money you can invite us on a double date.”

Naruto and Karin agreed happily and Sasuke was a little depressed, that he could kiss his money goodbye again already.

~~~oOo~~~

A few months went by. Half of Konoha knew at this point that Naruto and Sakura were dating. An exception had been Sakura’s parents. She didn’t know how to tell them and was actually afraid of their reactions. 

Whenever she came back from a mission, she would spend the night with her boyfriend and only return to her parents the next day, pretending she had just arrived back at the village.

This morning was similar to so many before it. Sakura laid in bed, her hand resting on Naruto’s belly. She was still sleeping soundly. 

Usually she had a very light sleep and would awake by every sound in the house, but when she slept next to Naruto barely anything could wake her up. Her conscience slowly slipped back into her body, when she felt a hand gently stroking over her hair. Tiredly she moaned and looked up a little. Naruto was already awake, lovingly gazing down at her.

“Good morning,” he hummed. 

“Good morning,” she replied with a smile and sat up, stretching. “Have you been up long?”

“Nope,” he said and eyed her up and down. 

At his point he knew every inch of her body, but seeing her naked was amazing time and time again. 

“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked her. 

“You cooked last night. I prepare breakfast,” she said and looked around for the black t-shirt she usually wore when sleeping. 

She put it and some boxer shorts on and strolled towards the kitchen. Naruto fell back down onto the mattress and took a moment of peace and warmth before standing up. 

When Sakura left, the apartment would become quiet and lonely again. With her around, everything was so much brighter. When she left, the normal life had him again. Maybe he should ask her to move in with him. But she surely wouldn’t agree to it. Sakura feared her parents response to their relationship. 

He got up and walked to the kitchen, watching her cook.

“We should tell your parents,” he said after a while. 

“Not yet,” she replied.

“Are you ashamed of me in front of them?” he asked. 

She turned around and said offended, “Of course not! I love you. I just… you know my mom. She would say anything from, ‘ _Sakura, how can you date someone that could potentially kill you_ ’ to ‘ _This boy is not good enough for you_ ’ and I really don’t like any of that. I know what she thinks of you and it’s not nice.”

“Really?”

“She thinks you’re a scalawag and usually more of a threat than a benefit for our village,” she said. 

“Your mom really said that?” he asked. 

“Well… not recently. But she used to,” she clarified. 

He hugged her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“We’ll wait a little longer then,” he said. “But we should tell them, before I propose to you.”

She chuckled and continued with the breakfast as it knocked on the door. 

“I’ll go,” he said and walked over to open it. 

Just as he pressed down the handle the door was kicked wide open and Mebuki stormed in, calling loudly and angrily for her daughter, “SAKURA HARUNO!!! GET HERE IMMEDIATELY!!!”

“Please come in…” Naruto breathed, his back pressed against the wall out of fear of being run over by the furious mother. 

“Mom?! What are you doing here?!” Sakura shouted and put the pan off the stove, so the eggs wouldn’t burn. Her gaze dropped to Sasuke, who her mother held fiercely by the ear, “And why is-”

“Why do I have to learn from your teammate that you have already returned yesterday from your mission and that you are dating NARUTO UZUMAKI FOR THE LAST FIVE MONTHS!?!?” Mebuki yelled. 

“Can you please let me go?” whimpered Sasuke.

Mebuki didn’t respond to him but let go, only to wildly gesture at her daughter. “How could you not tell me!?”

“I-I be-be…” Sakura stuttered for a moment before shouting, “Because I knew you would react just like this! And I didn’t want you to ruin my relationship!”

“Why do you think I would ruin your relationship?!” Mebuki yelled back, “I would never do that! I love you and support you! Even when your boyfriend is Naruto Uzumaki, who cares?! I want to be part of your life and I can’t do that when you keep secrets from me!”

Sakura was seriously surprised and overwhelmed to hear this, “I-I’m sorry. You really… don’t mind?”

“I love you, Sakura,” her mother said once more, this time quieter, “and Naruto… I guess you could have gotten it worse.”

The young woman leaped onto her mother’s arms and they shared a tight hug. 

“You are not wearing a bra, dear,” Mebuki pointed out. 

“I never do when I just woke up,” Sakura explained a little annoyed.

A sarcastic snort came from Sasuke followed by, “What do you need a bra for?”

Before Sakura could scold him for the insensitivity, Naruto did it for her, “Don’t you dare talk like that about her! Her breast are beautifully formed and soft!”

“Stop talking about my boobs, you perverts!” she shouted, blushing furiously. 

Mebuki just chuckled and asked, “Will you be home for dinner?”

“Yes. Of course I will,”

“Great, then bring Naruto with you, will you?” she asked. 

Sakura nodded with a happy smile. 

Mebuki turned to the boys and said, “Naruto, when you ever hurt my little girl, you better hope she kills you before I get to you.”

“Y-yes Ma’am,” he replied. “Though I would never dare hurting her.”

“That’s the healthiest option,” she said with a smile and left the apartment, “See you tonight.”

“Are all women of this family scary?” whispered Sasuke. 

Before one could answer, it shyly knocked on the open door and Karin looked in, “Hey… I just wanted to see if my boyfriend was still alive. Mrs Haruno just kinda… raided us and ran off with him.”

Relieved, Sasuke leaped at her and clung to her, “I’m so glad you are not like them…”

Sakura stepped next to Naruto and asked, “How did all of this even happen?”

Sasuke sighed and run his fingers through his hair, “It’s kinda my fault. I forgot that you were with Naruto and greeted her and she was confused and asked were you where and I panicked and accidentally spilled the beans.”

“Well… I guess I should be thankful for that. We were thinking forever how to tell them,” Sakura muttered. “Thank you.”

Sasuke smiled. He liked to see her happy and even Naruto seemed to be more balanced since they started dating. 

He wished them a nice day and left with Karin. 

Naruto closed the door and asked with a cheeky smile, “I wounder if you would move in now.”

Irritated she looked up at him, “We’ve never talked about this before.”

“But I have thought of it multiple times.”  
She laughed and walked back towards the kitchen, “Come on, you dork. Lets finish making breakfast and we’ll have an amazing day, before meeting my parents tonight.”

He followed her happily. Finally everything seemed perfect.


End file.
